Analysis of urine is one of the most commonly used medical techniques since the chemistry of a patient's urine reflects so may physiological conditions. The techniques for collection and analysis are archaic to say the least. The usual technique is to have the patient provide a urine sample in a bottle or cup and this vessel is delivered to the laboratory. Open cups or bottles are susceptible to spillage and it is surprising how inept people are in placing caps on bottles.
When the sample reaches the laboratory it may sit around for some time before the technician gets around to performing the required analyses. For many chemical tests this is of no great concern since the urine does not change rapidly. When tests are to be made for microorganisms, however, it is desirable to commence culture growth promptly so that the viability of organism is assured. It is impossible to say how many culture tests are reported negative simply because the technicians have unduly delayed the commencement of growth.
It is therefore desirable to provide a technique for obtaining urine samples with minimum chance for spillage between collection and the laboratory and where tests can be performed quickly and accurately with minimum time and mess.
For some tests, particularly for microorganism culture, it is desirable to obtain what is known as a midstream sample. The initial flow of urine may be contaminated with microorganisms from the external urethra and the initial portion of the stream is discarded. After this flushing action the balance of the stream may be collected for analysis. Previously this has been accomplished by having the patient urinate into more than one container or simply discard the first part of the stream and then urinate into the sample container. In children and elderly patients, such a technique is often unsatisfactory.